MENA450

This course (content course to be offered in Arabic) is aimed at both native Arabic-speaking students and advanced-level Arabic language learners. It focuses on aspects of Arabic linguistic variation in the Middle East and North African (MENA) region. It is designed to enhance all the four language skills at the advanced level. Special focus is given to strengthening students' strategies of academic reading and writing. As a content course, it aims at deepening students' knowledge of Arabic linguistic variation. The course adopts three approaches to the study of linguistic variation: linguistic-comparative, sociolinguistic, and discourse-based. The linguistic-comparative approach employs a descriptive method that examines aspects of linguistic variation in the linguistic features (lexicon, grammar, phonology, and morphology) of Standard Arabic and in the dialects. Special focus is given to the differences between Standard Arabic and the dialects in the above features. The sociolinguistic approach examines how linguistic variation can be explained by certain sociolinguistic factors (speaker-oriented and hearer-oriented) such as gender, class, education, and context of use. The discourse-based approach examines the alternation in use between Standard Arabic and the vernacular dialects in literary, religious, political, and educational discourses/texts.

CE - CL (Cross Listed)

Fall, Spring